A ‘Good Frame of Mind’ is the AmericanFrame.com company blog where we write about all things art & framing. Here you will find a range of articles on frame design, framing tips and techniques, printing tutorials and answers to your ‘frequently asked’ customer service questions. We love to interact with our audience so we hope you’ll join our community by subscribing and commenting on the blog.

Attendees can
read the stories of Veterans from every branch of the military from World War
II through the Post-9/11 era, then see the artist’s interpretation of the same
story.

For veteran
Michael, the Army was a chance to test himself
and improve his skills.He served from
2005 to 2013 and was stationed in Iraq for some of that time. What started as a
four-month deployment there eventually stretched into 18 months.

“It’s
interesting the way the mind and the body all works together,” he said. “You
don’t think you can carry that much weight or exist in that much heat. And then
you do.”

Participant
Ernest served in the Army from 1970 to ‘71. He recalls saving a fellow soldier
injured by a landmine by sticking his
fingers in the man’s chest wound to stop blood loss. He put him on a helicopter but assumed he had died until he
encountered him years later at an Army reunion.

“The only way I
would know you is if you had a bunch of holes in your chest,” Ernest told the
man. “He looked at me and unbuttoned his shirt and pulled his T-shirt up.
I put my fingers back in those holes. He had lived. But for 29 years I
thought he had died. Stuff like that gets burned into your mind and it just doesn’t go away.”

Artist Susan
Chouteau’s painting depicts Ernest and the man he saved, both of their hands
covering the holes in his chest.

Lauren, who
also told her story as part of the project, served in the Army during Vietnam
and remembers the hatred she faced upon
her return from the unpopular war.

“I expected a
welcome. I thought that's what it was all about. When our plane landed, there was a gaggle of women on the other side of
the chain link fence. And I thought ‘Wow this is great. A welcome.’Well it was welcome in terms of jeers, accusations of “baby killer,” of
spitting. Being gone one month short of four years, I hadn't had any knowledge
of the animus that existed
against Vietnam. It was exceedingly
painful. People around me acted like I had leprosy.”

Nick remembers
joining the Navy in 2002 to escape a hard life as a gay man in a small town. He
said eventually, hiding who he was became
even harder.

“It takes a
toll on your energy and your soul,” he said. “Just lying about yourself and who
you are every single day for five years is pretty exhausting. Even if you have
friends who know and don’t care, you still have to lie.”

Leonard, who
also told his story, served in the Army from 1944 to 1946, starting when he was
just 18.

“The Battle of
the Bulge was first. My first real combat. I crossed the Rhine River on my 19th
birthday,” he said “From there, we went down to these concentration camps, and that was something. Humans stacked
up, some of them half dead, some of them dead. Something I don’t want to see
again. There were some in their bunks that we took out that were still alive,
but they didn’t know it.”

See more of the
stories for yourself when the EVAC project comes to American Frame. A reception will take place at 5:30 p.m. Friday,
November 9th, with a silent auction running until 7 p.m.

Friday, October 26, 2018

Frames aren’t just for photographs and paintings. They can add style to a
mirror, turning it into a focal point of the room. If you’re thinking of using
one of our frames to make your own mirror, here are some things to keep in
mind.

Once you’ve chosen a few frames you like, order samples. It’s an easy,
affordable way to ensure the mirrors will fit inside the frames. We offer free
samples of all our frames. Corner samples can be ordered for a small fee. When
it’s time to order the frame, insert the exact size of the mirror, leaving no
room for a mat. You will want to order a mounting board, however.

Now, build your framed mirror.

1.First, gather your assembled frame, mirror and backing board.
If you don’t have a mirror, you can get one custom-cut at many hardware and
glass shops. Keep in mind that the inside lip of the frame will reflect on the
front of the mirror. To avoid unfinished wood reflecting in your mirror, we
suggest painting or coloring the inside lip. Use a permanent marker or our Picture Frame Touch Up Kit.

2.After your frame dries completely, build your art stack with
your mirror on top of the mounting board, and gently place the mirror in the
back of it. If you’re looking at the back of the frame, the mounting board
should be the first thing you see.

4.Finally, hang your mirror. It will be heavy, so you’ll need
extra support. We recommend the Hangman Wood Frame Hanging System. It’s an extra-strong wall mounting hardware system
for wood frames and can hold up to 200 lbs. This video explains how to use
it.

When you think
of holiday gifts, frames may not be the first thing to come to mind. But
they’re an easy way to turn ordinary objects into treasured mementos with a
personal touch other presents lack.

Paired with the right mat and mounting boards, a framed item will protect keepsakes and remind your loved one of fond
memories whenever they look at it.

Here are some
of our favorite ideas for framed gifts.

Photos

Whether you
snapped the shot yourself or found it in a long-forgotten family album, a
photograph is always a heartwarming gift. Select one that depicts a cherished
memory like a family reunion, wedding, or graduation or lift their spirits with a funny,
candid shot. Have an old pile of black and white photos or Polaroids? Frame
them together in a custom
collage mat.

Musical Gifts

Looking for a gift for the music lover in your life?Frame
a copy of their favorite vinyl record along with the album cover art. Or, display the sheet music to their
favorite tune, or a holiday classic like Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song.”
Other mementos, like concert tickets, Playbills, programs, or set lists also
make lovely musical gifts.

Dried Flowers

From crisp leaves to dried herbs, plants make gorgeous statement pieces
for anyone who loves nature. Framed mistletoe or spruce branches double as
holiday decorations, while a dried bouquet makes a pretty gift that can be
displayed year-round.

Clothing

Surprise your favorite sports fan with a framed jersey. A jersey display case lets you frame without adding holes to the garment.
Maybe your husband has a T-shirt from college that no longer fits. Adding a
frame transforms it into a conversation piece. You could do the same with a
graduation cap and tassel, a wedding veil, a baby blanket, or any other item
with sentimental value.

Notes and Letters

You might not think to frame letters, but they can be an unexpected and
appreciated gift. Give your spouse some of your favorite love letters in an
elegant frame to show you’ve kept them all these years. Frame correspondence
from family members who live far away to keep a piece of them close to you.
Genealogy buffs would love a print and framed family tree, while a cooking
enthusiast would appreciate a framed family recipe.

Gift Cards

It can sometimes be hard to guess the type of frames and mats a friend may
like. American Frame Gift Cards are a perfect solution that lets them choose frames,
mats, and accessories themselves. They’re also great for anyone you know who
creates, collects, or enjoys art.

Need help choosing the right frames or accessories for your gift? Contact us.

You
can also visit our new Gifts page on our website for
ideas year round.

If framed art has an
enemy, it’s acids. They can yellow and decay your
paper-based photographs, newspaper clippings, and paintings. And they may be
hiding in your framing materials, ready to destroy your art when exposed to
light.

Luckily, keeping acids out of your frame display is as easy
as sticking to archival and conservation-quality products, including mats,
mounting
boards, and sealing tape.

Frame sealing tape is used to seal rabbets in wood frame
displays to keep acids from migrating. Itcan also be used to seal frame backs
or packages to protect against mildew, mold, corrosive
gasses,and other contaminants. It’s another layer of protection to keep
anything that may harm far from it.

I-Film
Self-Adhesive Frame Sealing Tapeis made
from archival polyethylene material embedded with a non-yellowing
copper matrix, which is coated with an acrylic adhesive. It’s strong, flexible,
and puncture resistant, making application easy, even on raw wood. And its
Corrosion Intercept® Protection (CIT) stops acid, corrosive gases, mildew and
mold before they reach your art.

At American Frame, we want the framing process to be as easy as
possible. That’s why we created the “CUSTOMIZE THIS FRAME” feature on our
website. After selecting a frame, this design tool walks you through the remaining steps, from inputting the correct
frame size to choosing accessories like mat and mounting
boards.

But for first-time framers,
questions may still arise. When buying a frame, our “CUSTOMIZE THIS FRAME” tool
lets you choose between designing by inputting the “Art size” and the “Frame
size” Recently, a customer called to inquire about the difference between these
two measurements.

“Art size” refers to the measurements of the art itself. If you’d
like to play with mat board choices and proportions, designing by art size will automatically calculate them for you.

“Frame Size” here refers to the matted dimensions of the frame,
and accounts for the art, mat board, and acrylic. If you
know the size of the frame and mat you need, enter it here. Perhaps you’re replacing a frame you already
own and want the same size mat.

For example, here’s
how you’d order a frame for a piece measuring 16 ¾ x 11 ¼. Simply enter those
measurements into the“Art Size,” field.
Then, hit “next” to see the other options, including mats, glazing, and
mounting. When you reach the mat field,the system will instantly adjust for a
1/8” overlap on all sides of the artwork, so the art won’t fall through the mat
window opening. (If you don’t need to overlap your artwork because you are
leaving a reveal to let some of the paper show, you can change this overlap to
zero.)In the frame design workflow, the
art size will remain the same, and the frame size will change based on your
selections. All final dimensions, art size, mat size, and
outside frame sizes are always updated
through the process under the rendering of the frame kit for reference.

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Linen liners are a great alternative to matting, and an easy way to add
style to canvas prints. But if you’ve never used them before, you may need some
help deciding which size you need. Here’s a question we recently received by
email.

“How much does a liner overlap the painting?When you say a liner is 3/4" wide, is
that how much of the liner shows, or is part of that tucked under the frame,
and if so how much is tucked under the frame?”

A linen liner is designed to be used in combination with a frame.Linen liners are a decorative border that
acts as a mat for a stretched canvas.

The composition of linen liners
is different than that of mats.It’s actually
a narrow frame made from wood.To
decorate the surface of the wood, linen fabric is affixed to the wood,
resulting in a pleasing design.

How do you attach a linen liner to a canvas? The method is basically
placing a wood frame around another wood frame and using the provided spring
clips or a point driver. If you order a
liner with a wood frame, we will attach it to the frame before shipping it to
you. Industry standard dictates frames will overlap the edges of artwork by
¼”.This is the same across the board
for all of our wood frames and linen liners.

The linen liner will overlap the edge of the canvas by ¼”.When a frame is placed around it, the frame
lip will overlap the linen liner by ¼”.Once
framed, the visual portion of a ¾” wide linen liner will only be ½”, since ¼”
is tucked under the lip of the frame.We
do carry a wider liner (1 ¼”).That
means the visible portion of the liner will be 1” when the frame lip covers ¼”.

We can ship
assembled liners up to 90 UI (united inches) just like our frames. Over that
size we can ship unassembled.This is an inexpensive way to achieve a
finished look for your beautiful artwork.

Thursday, October 4, 2018

At American Frame, we don’t just understand artists. Weare artists. Most of our employees have
their own creative endeavors, from
photography to painting. And when it’s time to frame their work, they choose
from our wide selection of solid-wood and Nielsen metal frames. Here are a few
of their top frame selections.

A favorite of Shelby from our showroom, this industrial
style frame is versatile and on trend. She selected it to frame an
architectural drawing project on distressed paper with a deckled edge. The
forged metal look perfectly accentuated the rustic feel of the art.

“It’s appealing because it gives the effect of cast metal,”
she said. “It emphasizes any kind of
metal qualities in your art while giving it a refined characteristic.”

Traci, from our commercial framing department, chose this
elegant metal frame to adorn a paint-by-numbers rendition of da Vinci’s “Last
Supper” and said it perfectly complemented the art and her decor.

“I love the softness of the rounded front on all the Radius
frames,” she said.

There’s something to be said for simplicity. That’s why
Christine from our showroom loves this basic black frame. Its versatility means she’s used it everywhere,
from displaying a collection of tea towels to posters and children’s art.

“It goes with everything,” she said. “And it looks more
expensive than it is. It’s a sturdy frame that is great for familyportraits,
certificates, or framing your kids’
artwork without taking away from the art.”